The ex-United States National Security Agency operative who was responsible for the largest-ever leak of top-secret intelligence files has hinted Russia could have been behind a possible cyber attack on the American agency.

Edward Snowden, who was granted political asylum in Russia, said there was evidence to suggest NSA servers were the victims of a Russian-inspired malware attack.

“Circumstantial evidence and conventional wisdom indicates Russian responsability,” wrote Snowden on his official Twitter account late Tuesday.

Snowden understands the NSA site suffered an attack a short time after the Shadow Brokers group announced it had located a cache of advanced hacking tools belonging to the Equation Group, a network of web pirates supposedly linked with the US intelligence agency.

As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, Internet security firm Kaspersky Lab revealed the existence of the Equation Group and its network of servers abroad.

Costa Rica was among the countries where Equation Group servers were identified by Kaspersky Lab. Other countries in Latin America included Colombia and Panama, which, like Costa Rica, are close U.S. allies.

“Why did they do it? No one knows, but I suspect this is more diplomacy than intelligence,” Snowden said, adding that the attack could have been related to hacking related to the US’s Democratic National Convention.

Shadow Brokers posted part of the information recovered and therefore, according to Snowden, proved it had secured access to the tools and programmes used by the NSA in spying operations.

Three years ago Snowden revealed a massive US and United Kingdom spying operation, forcing him to leave the US and seek refuge in Russia.

Despite his political refugee status, the ex-NSA analyst has criticised some Kremlin decisions, such as the recently approved Russian Anti Terrorist Law, which, according to Snowden opens the gates to massive communication intercepts, similar to those currently operational in Snowden’s homeland.

Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, said Wednesday that his client now lived in a free country where he was entitled to express his own opinions, including in fields he knows very well.

Snowden on Monday dismissed through Twitter the rumors he had been murdered.

Snowden wrote, “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,” accompanied by a picture of 19th century writer Mark Twain, who used the same phrase every time he wanted to deny rumors of sickness _ or death.

Moscow, Aug.16 (EFE)